Obama Says So Long SOPA, Killing Controversial Internet Piracy Legislation

[gateley]

/snip

Much to the chagrin of Hollywood, the Entertainment Software Association (which has been a backer of the bill from early on), and Internet domain company GoDaddy.com (which lost many accounts as a result of its support for the bill); SOPA has been shelved. The Motion Picture Association of America, one of the bill’s largest sponsors, is expected to regroup. /snip

But there remains another similar bill, Protect IP (the Enforcing and Protecting American Rights Against Sites Intent on Theft and Exploitation Act), that poses a problem for gamers and Internet users. This legislation is scheduled to go before the Senate on January 24th.

Both SOPA and Protect IP attempt to combat online piracy by preventing American search engines like Google and Yahoo from directing users to sites distributing stolen content. Both bills also would enable people and companies to sue if their copyright was infringed. Obama has come out against both bills, which killed SOPA and puts pressure on senators come January 24th. The full White House response can be read here.

“Any provision covering Internet intermediaries such as online advertising networks, payment processors, or search engines must be transparent and designed to prevent overly broad private rights of action that could encourage unjustified litigation that could discourage startup businesses and innovative firms from growing,” said The White House. “We expect and encourage all private parties, including both content creators and Internet platform providers working together, to adopt voluntary measures and best practices to reduce online piracy.” /snip

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngaudiosi/2012/01/16/obama-says-so-long-sopa-killing-controversial-internet-piracy-legislation/

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Good on President Obama.

[blogslut]

2. Good

May the Protect IP act die on the vine as well.

[gateley]

3. I have to admit I didn't understand the motive behind Google, et al, opposing this.

But I should have know, the motive is always the same -- $$$.

[wandy]

4. Don't put away the torches and pitch forks. This war isn't over yet.

I don't want to get into the blood for sand thing but..........
If we're crazy enough to risk WW3 to defend Isreal.
We're crazy enough to bomb information technolegy back to the stone age to defend Disney.
It is more than defending Disney. Like the people in China you won't have to trouble you'rev selvs with images of 'pepper spray cops'.
We need to keep the pressure on our 'congress critters' any way we can!

[woo me with science]

5. Not killed. Shelved temporarily.

It will be back, probably after the election.

[gratuitous]

6. Puzzling

I have just been lectured about how powerless the President is to affect legislation, or do much of anything, particularly having to interface with a Republican majority in the House. But now, here's a major news outlet talking about how the President's opposition to SOPA (and maybe PIPA?) helped to kill these unpopular bills.

[merkins]

7. SOPA and PIPA Far From Dead, Despite Obama

Although the White House this weekend expressed "serious reservations" about elements of the pending anti-piracy bills SOPA and PIPA, and House leaders have said they will not conduct hearings on their bill any time soon, the legislation is far from dead. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said this weekend that he hopes to open debate on the Senate's version later this month. And House sponsor Lamar Smith said he will continue work on that chamber's version. Internet protests planned for tomorrow, in which some of the web's largest sites will go offline for 24 hours, are expected to go ahead as scheduled.

The two bills - the House version is known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and the Senate's is the Protect IP Act (PIPA) - have been under fire from consumer groups and Internet rights activists for months. Although ostensibly designed to protect the intellectual property of American publishers and manufacturers, opponents say the bills are so broadly written that they could limit the free exchange of information on the Internet, harm consumer rights, and undermine Internet security standards. In a letter to Congress in November, Consumers Union, the Consumer Federation of America, and U.S. PIRG said SOPA "could close off online exchanges that provide lower prices for consumers; reduce online security, and allow for anti-consumer practices by online service providers."

...

If you'd like to show your opposition to SOPA and PIPA, you can write to your representatives using this form provided by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

Link: http://consumerist.com/2012/01/sopa-and-pipa-far-from-dead-despite-concerns-of-white-house-and-changes-to-bills.html


List of companies/organizations protesting SOPA/PIPA: http://operationsopa.blogspot.com/2012/01/list-of-companiesorganizations-that-are.html

[SunsetDreams]

8. kick